It Should Go Two Ways
by AnotherWannabeWriter
Summary: Rita is fed up of her and Iain's relationship always being controlled by him and what he wants. But does Iain really know what he wants?
1. Chapter 1

**Hi so this is my first attempt at a casualty story. It hasn't been beta'd so I apologise for any errors or inaccuracies.**

Why did he always turn her down? She knows that it is just supposed to be a bit of fun but it should still go two ways. She was starting to feel like a toy that he was using when he wanted it and then just putting her away when he was finished.

He had even stopped staying the night; deciding instead to leave straight after sex. He tried to claim that it was because he didn't want their colleagues finding out, but she was staring to believe it might just be that he wasn't interested in her for any reason other than her body.

There he was coming round the corner looking at her with an expression that she had grown to recognise as his 'I want sex' face. Trouble was she so often found it too hard to resist.

After glancing around to check for spectators Iain grabbed her face and kissed her. She wanted to resist she really did. She wanted him to know that she was mad at him for using her. But he was a such a good kisser; so instead she deepened the kiss and pulled him close into to her until there was no gap between them at all.

When they broke apart for air she took a step back. As good as it was, they were in the middle of a corridor, and someone could walk around the corner at any moment.

"So I'll see you tonight?" he asked her using his most attractive voice; his eyes narrowed at her as if he was seeing her naked. She was ready to see him right there. But she held onto her composure.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea"

"Why not?" he shot back. Did she see a glimmer of hurt flash though his eyes? Concern? Maybe she simply imagined it.

"Iain, I'm not a plaything you can just use when you want to" she took a deep breath in; she couldn't believe she was about to turn him down. "I'm a person, I have feelings and you just don't respect them."

He recoiled. "Reets, you know we were just having a bit of fun; this, this thing was never supposed to become something serious." She avoided looking at him instead choosing to look at her hands. If she looked at him she'd back down. She knew that she would; she really was starting to like him.

"We've been doing this for two months now, of course it's more than a bit of fun. It's way more than a one night stand now, it's gone so far beyond that. But if you don't think that, so if we're not on the same wavelength, then I'm going to have to put an end to it before I get, before you hurt me." She looked up to see his reaction. He just looked confused. "After everything I went through with Mark I can't afford to get hurt again." He still didn't respond.

She turned to leave.

"Rita…Come on…" Iain didn't seem to have anything to say. She kept on going and returned to the ED to continue her shift.

As Iain watched her walk away he realised, he knew, that it was more than just the sex for him too. He had put a block on his feelings; a block on letting anyone get too close to him. He had stopped staying the night with Rita to stop himself from falling. It looked like he already had. And now it was too late. He cursed to himself.

"Shit Iain, why the fuck do you have to fuck everything up."

Dixie walked round the corner just missing his outburst. "Hey you, I was just about to send out a search party to find you. We've got a shout." Dixie headed away again. "Come on."

Iain tried to swallow his feelings, whatever they were, and followed her out.


	2. Chapter 2

When they arrived the whole place was up in flames. There were sparks shooting everywhere. Debris was scattered all over the car park from the explosion. People with varying levels of injuries and ailments were just wandering about not sure what to do, and whether they were a priority yet.

"Is everyone out yet?" Dixie asked a firefighter that seemed like she was in charge of the teams.

"All but one." She shook her head sadly. "We can't get to him yet, it's not safe and we think that he's trapped under some metal bars."

"Does he need us?" Iain was anxious to get stuck in. To stop him thinking about the fact he screwed everything up with Rita. To do some actual good. That was why he was such an adrenaline junkie; why he liked to get in the middle of things. To help people. To save lives.

"You can't get in there." The firefighter glared at him. "Like I said, it's not safe."

Iain ignored her. Of course he did. It's what he did best, ignore direct orders if there was a chance he could save a life. He started to sprint towards what he assumed used to be the entrance and Dixie being Dixie followed after him.

"Iain! Don't be stupid!" She knew that he loved to play the hero. She was used to it. Jeff had been exactly the same, and look what that ended with. But today was different. This shout was so much worse than all the others; it really wasn't safe and that much was obvious. But Dixie knew that Iain had been acting strangely ever since she found him on his own in the hospital corridor. He seemed off; he barely exchanged any conversation with her in the ambulance. Not even when she told him the ending of a TV series that she knew he was watching as well. Dixie couldn't let him risk his life like this just because he was in some sort of grump.

She caught up to him just as he had managed to reach the boy. The kid couldn't have been any older than ten but there he was; the life draining out of him every second. Just one glance at Iain's face told Dixie that there was absolutely no way that she would be able to get him out now; not after seeing the boy. The smoke was getting thicker here and it wouldn't be long until the whole area was engulfed in flames; then there would be no chance of the boy, or even themselves, ever getting out alive. If they were going to act then it had to be now.

Dixie began talking to the boy, trying to keep him conscious. She checked his vitals and began treating him so that if they could get him out of there he would be okay. Iain was eyeing up the poles that trapped the boy; he knew he could lift them off, the amount of adrenaline pumping around his body told him that. There was always the danger of causing more injury to the boy if he did get them off, but if he didn't the boy had no chance. He grabbed one and instantly withdrew his hands again; blisters were already forming on his hands from the heat of them. But he had made his decision the moment he defied orders and rushed in here to the boy's aid; he was going to save a life even if it killed him. So he gritted his teeth and tried again.

Iain had managed to almost move half of the poles before the firefighter crew got permission to enter. Together they removed the rest quickly; but it was too late for Iain's hands, they were completely scalded and now they were going to be safe and adrenaline had reduced the pain was almost unbearable, even for Iain. Another ambulance crew came in and took the boy away. Iain knew that he'd be okay, Dixie worked magic especially under extreme pressure. Another life saved. All in a day's work.


	3. Chapter 3

The boy had been taken to St James'; Iain and Dixie only took a few minor injuries with them; the ED was packed to the brim as it was. The second they stepped into the department they were whisked away to cubicles for assessment and to Iain's dismay Dylan was assigned to him to check over his hands. Dixie was in the bed next to him but her injuries were just superficial so she was getting checked by Rita.

They all sat in silence for several minutes before Iain decided to speak. "Hey Dylan." The doctor grunted in reply. "I'm really sorry about Sam." This statement was so clearly nothing at all like what Dylan was expecting to hear. He paused his inspection of Iain's hands and actually looked him in the eye. He grunted again; Iain took that as an acceptance of his apology.

"Rita when you've finished can you dress his burns; there doesn't seem to be any nerve damage." Dylan walked off; his job done.

"What was that about?" Dixie looked at Iain confused. "Is that why you've been acting funny this afternoon, because you've been missing Sam? Because that was ages ago now, I thought you'd've been over her by now."

Iain looked over at her. "Eh? No, I've just realised that I'd never really apologised. You know it can't have been nice for him, you know, losing her and that, and it is partly my fault."

"Partly?" Dixie scoffed at him. "Okay then, have you finished now?" She spoke to Rita; Rita hadn't realised that she had stopped checking Dixie over, she had been too engrossed in the conversations.

"Oh, er, yeah"

"Great, I'm gonna go to the loo." Dixie left the cubicle.

Iain went to speak but Rita beat him to it.

"You can't do that you know." She glared at him. "You can't just go and put your life at risk; you can't just go and try and get yourself killed, are you crazy, are you insane." She had started at a whisper level but she was almost shouting now. "What the actual fuck were you thinking?" Her eyes had filled with tears but when she looked at Iain, so were his.

Rita took a breath and reduced her volume to a more normal level "If you'd, if you died that would've been, our last conversation that would've been me ending it. That would've been the last conversation and then you'd've been dead and." She could feel the tears starting to fall down her face. Iain's were too. He stood off his bed and pulled her close to him; not caring how much it hurt his hands. "You just can't do that to me." She buried her forehead into his chest and he rested his chin on her head.

He would've stayed like that forever but Rita extracted herself. Her face was miraculously devoid of any evidence that she had been crying. She was fully composed.

"Right lets dress these then." She guided him back to the bed and Nurse Rita was back. She avoided his eye contact throughout the dressing and when she was finished she left the cubicle without even a glance back. Iain was confused; it was almost as if their exchange hadn't happened. But it had, so he wasn't going to give up hope yet.


	4. Chapter 4

They had to be kept under observation because apparently there was some chemical that they may or may not have inhaled. Every time Rita came to check on them she managed to act like nothing had happened. He couldn't; he had to keep on turning away from Dixie to hide the fact he was crying. Rita was right he could have actually died, before he had actually given it a chance. Rita had said earlier that she wanted to end it before she got hurt but now it seemed like it was him that was hurt; and to think that this morning he still thought that he hadn't let his feelings get involved with his relationship with Rita. How wrong he had been.

"Right, that's it." Dixie made him jump with her exclamation. "You're gonna tell me what's wrong; I can't keep on pretending that I can't hear your sniffles." She got off her bed and walked across to his. "What has got past the brave, army guy Iain Dean's hard outer shell? Was it the RSPCA advert, that one gets me every time." Iain still didn't respond. "Oh I know, is it because I ruined the ending for you? Is that why you're in a grump?" Dixie sighed and Iain heard the cubicle curtain being pulled back.

"Come on Rita help me get it out of him." Rita paused.

"What are you trying to get out of him?"

"Why he's been moping about, that's what, he's been crying as regular as your observations, we're fine by the way not died of chemical poisoning yet."

"Well then I'd better go check on the other actual patients then" Rita went to leave.

"Nope, you're not going anywhere, maybe between us we'll get it out of him." Dixie jumped up and dragged Rita towards Iain's bed. "Would it cheer you up if I told you that me and Rita kissed."

"What?!" That had definitely perked him up but not in the way Dixie had hoped; he felt like his chest was about to burst from jealousy. "When?"

"Knew that would bring you back to life, ages ago now though. Would give you a re-enactment but…"

"No!" Iain practically growled; Dixie didn't hear him so continued

"…I've got Jess to think of now though." Dixie chuckled to herself. "She was a good kisser though I'll give you that Rita."

"Okay, okay I'll tell you." Iain would do anything to stop this conversation. He had never felt the level of jealousy he felt right now. He didn't know where the feelings had come from. Rita was standing by his bed looking awkward; looking like she'd rather be anywhere else right now.

"The thing is, there's," Iain grimaced to himself, he couldn't believe that he was actually doing this "well there's this girl."

"Ooo intriguing." Dixie sat back on his bed. Rita had started to back out of the cubicle but she was interested now; her feet felt like they had been glued to the ground.

"She's, she's incredible, she's I don't even know how to describe it, but I screwed it up, I screwed it up real bad Dix. I don't think there's any chance, she doesn't even want to look at me anymore I don't think."

"And you've been crying about it? Iain you never cry like that, this girl, she's serious isn't she?"

"Yeah, I think so." Iain looked up at Rita but he couldn't tell how she was reacting. She was able to keep her emotions well hidden. "Maybe."

Dixie followed his gaze. "Have you got anything to chip in Rita? You're being quiet."

"Well I'm not really one to give out relationship advice am I, I mean look at me, what do I know." She shrugged at herself.

"Well to me, and I'm no expert neither, but it sounds like love Iain; sounds like you've got it bad." Dixie patted him on the shoulder. "Sorry to break it to you, but you're in love, try to unscrew it. If she's that special then she's worth it, just try to unscrew it somehow."

"Eh, love, no, it's not love, I don't, it's not." Iain shook his head disbelievingly. He couldn't believe they were having this conversation in front of Rita. Dixie just nodded at him; she knew she was right even if he wasn't able to admit it to himself yet.

"But" Rita decided she needed to jump in "shouldn't he find out how she feels, because, well she'd need to feel the same way, yeah."

"Excellent point Rita, that's why we needed you here for the intervention, does she feel the same about you Iain, or did she before you screwed up?"

"I don't know." Iain looked at Rita again to see that she had a small smile forming and was very slightly nodding. Or at least he thought she was; he was on some strong painkillers for his hands.

"Give her a call, come on we'll give you some privacy." Dixie guided Rita out of the cubicle leaving a contemplative Iain behind. "Did you want to grab a drink or something?" Dixie asked before she got distracted by Jess walking in. Rita used this distraction as an excuse to slip back into Iain's cubicle. Iain was sitting on the edge of the bed with his back to Rita so didn't notice her come back in.

"So, must be love then huh?" He turned to look at her; she was smirking at him and he knew then that he hadn't completely screwed everything up.

"Eh, well I wouldn't go that far." His eyes followed her as she skirted around the bed to sit by his side.

"No?" She raised her eyebrows at him.

"No." He leant forward until their lips were almost touching.

She could feel his breath. Her eyes were closed. "Well what is it then?" She was teasing him.

In answer to her he closed the small gap left between them and tried to express every feeling he was experiencing, every confusing, conflicting feeling in the most incredible kiss that he had ever had. The most incredible kiss with the most incredible woman. It was definitely love but he wasn't going to admit that yet.


End file.
